This invention relates to a connector assembly, particular to a connector assembly which is provided with a lock mechanism, what is called a friction lock.
Referring to FIGS. 13 to 15, JPA 2011-070831 (Patent Literature 1) discloses a first connector 900 and a second connector 950 which are provided with a socket housing 910 and a pin housing 960, respectively. The socket housing 910 is provided with a lock portion 920 having a locking portion (first locking portion) 924. The locking portion 924 is supported by a supporting portion 922 which is resiliently deformable. On the other hand, the pin housing 960 is formed with a hole portion 962 which corresponds to the locking portion 924 of the socket housing 910. The first connector 900 and the second connector 950 are mated with each other to form a connector assembly.
As shown in FIG. 15, the locking portion 924 protrudes upward from the socket housing 910. At the beginning of mating the first connector 900 with the second connector 950 as shown by an outline arrow in FIG. 15, the locking portion 924 is brought into abutment with the pin housing 960. Then, the supporting portion 922 (see FIG. 13) is resiliently deformed, and the locking portion 924 is moved downward or toward a negative-Z direction. Accordingly, the first connector 900 can come into the second connector 950 in part. After that, when the locking portion 924 reaches the hole portion 962, the locking portion 924 comes into the hole portion 962 at least in part as shown in FIG. 16 due to a reaction force of the supporting portion 922. Thus, the first connector 900 and the second connector 950 are in a mated state. When the first connector 900 and the second connector 950 are applied with a separation direction force while under the mated state, the locking portion 924 is brought into abutment with an edge (second locking portion) of the hole portion 962. Consequently, the first connector 900 cannot be substantially pulled out from the second connector 950. Thus, the lock portion 920 and the hole portion 962 lock the mated state of the first connector 900 and the second connector 950.
It needs a jig or a lock release operation to release the lock achieved by the lock portion 920 and the hole portion 962 of Patent Literature 1. However, depending on an intended purpose of a connector assembly, there is a demand for a lock mechanism that a first connector and a second connector of the connector assembly can be separated from each other without a jig or a special release operation. Such a lock mechanism can be formed by changing shapes and sizes of the first locking portion and the second locking portion. In detail, the lock mechanism should be structured so that a lock between the first locking portion and the second locking portion is released when the first connector and the second connector are applied with the separation direction force exceeding a predetermined force. The lock mechanism which can release the locked state only by the separation direction force as mentioned above is referred to as a friction lock mechanism.
In a friction lock mechanism having a structure similar to the lock mechanism disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a first locking portion is pressed against a pin housing by a supporting portion supporting the first locking portion and, in that state, slides on a surface of the pin housing when the first connector and the second connector are mated with or separated from each other. In addition, when the first connector and the second connector are separated from each other, the first locking portion and the second locking portion are strongly rubbed with each other. In this manner, the first locking portion and the second locking portion, especially the first locking portion, are worn away and changed in shape or size by repetition of mating and removing of the first connector and the second connector. Therefore, a lock force given by the friction lock mechanism is reduced.